Gillingham graduated from the University of California, San Diego and later completed a surgical internship at Naval Medical Center San Diego. He also has served at the medical center as Director of Pediatric Orthopedic and Scoliosis Surgery, and aboard the San Diego-based hospital ship Mercy as staff orthopedic surgeon and then as director of surgical services.

During a tour to Taqqadam, Iraq in 2004 during Operation Phantom Fury, Gillingham was Battalion Chief of Professional Services (Forward) for the 1st Force Service Support Group and Officer in Charge of the Surgical Shock Trauma Platoon.

On his return, Gillingham was instrumental in establishing the Comprehensive Combat and Complex Casualty Care or (C5) center in San Diego, which provides prosthetic and rehabilitative care for a surge of war wounded troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Gillingham returns to San Diego after serving as the Fleet Surgeon and Director, Health Services, US Fleet Forces Command, where he was responsible for the healthcare needs and operations of the worldwide fleet.

Faison, who led the medical center and Navy Medicine West since August 2010, is being reassigned to Falls Church, Va., as a deputy chief for the Navy’s Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.

During his tenure, Faison oversaw 10 subordinate military treatment facilities, 16,800 staff members and a $1.3 billion budget, providing care to more than 850,000 beneficiaries across the Western Pacific. He also oversaw the deployment of more than 2,400 personnel for nearly 150 missions, including rotations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Djibouti and Guantanamo Bay.